Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win
I honestly wish that I had thought up the name myself because although the basic core belief system isn’t new, I never thought of it that way when I was in the military.
It was, however, the very first lesson I was taught when training to become an officer.
It took on many mantras: “lead from the front”, “when in charge take charge”, and “make a call.” In my mind it was always “the blame is on me”. Maybe it was operating out of a place of fear, but the message was the same.
I own everything that happens under my command. These people are my responsibility, this mission is my responsibility, the results are mine, as are the successes, failures, and hardships.
Welcome to the How to Apply it to REI series where we take the best business, personal development, and biographical works and apply it to the world of real estate investing.
In today’s post in the How to Apply it to REI series we are looking at Extreme Ownership: how US Navy SEALs Lead and Win, written by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, two highly decorated Navy SEALs, an instant classic.
Its message resonates so deeply that I had to buy both the hard cover and the audiobook. I read a lot and process many books on leadership and this one is one of the best. Honestly, this view of leadership can change your investing business and overall life because it imparts one of the strongest mindset shifts ever, Extreme Ownership.
The concept of Extreme Ownership is simple (simplicity being one of the cornerstones of effective leadership, further discussed in the book).
It means that as the leader, and you are a leader if you are reading this, then everything that happens, good or bad, you MUST own. Extreme Ownership is understanding and accepting that the ultimate responsibility for the mission rests on the shoulders of the leader.
- The mission takes priority.
- It is greater than any one member of the team.
- It is greater than any excuse or difficulty.
Yes, things happen out of your control. Deals fall apart, funding gets denied, partners back out, rehab projects hit a snag. Many of these things are out of your personal control, but to take ownership of it means that you still find a way to lead your team through or around the problem.
You find a way to make the circumstances reflect your own actions so that you can learn from it and do better next time.
This is incredibly empowering. Why would you even take responsibility for things that you had no power over? The alternative is basically throwing your hands up in defeat. If it is someone else’s fault then there is nothing you can do. If it is your “fault” because you take Extreme Ownership, then it empowers YOU to do something and TAKE ACTION.
Why did a deal fall apart? Check your ego and look at it objectively.
Maybe the bank denied your loan. Do you blame the underwriter? If you take Extreme Ownership you say ok, maybe my proposal wasn’t strong enough:
- How can I create a more convincing presentation so that the underwriter sees the potential to make profit plus the safe guards I put in place to mitigate risk?
- Can I put together testimonials of my past deals?
- Can I show them a sample deal package that maps out my process?
- Can I include the profiles and accomplishments of my team members so that I build credibility?
- What did you learn about the process so that you can refine your approach the next time?
Always learn from your execution. Whether successful or unsuccessful you can always learn something value and important. Lessons learned in the Army were recorded in something we called the AAR (After Action Review). After a mission we asked what went wrong and what went right.
If you learn from failures then you don’t repeat the same mistakes, this is how you get better.
If you did something that worked, repeat is again, it becomes part of the standard operating procedure, your playbook, your strategy. This is how you get better.
Here is the formula: What happened and why? -> I accept that this happened, this result it on me -> What can I do to enable my team to accomplish the mission?
Look at that last line again. It is about TEAMWORK. Leadership is about TEAMWORK.
If you cannot get people to follow you are not a leader. If they will not listen and execute you are not a leader. Guess what, if they are not taking actions you direct it is not on them, it is on you as a leader practicing Extreme Ownership.
There are only two kinds of leaders; effective and ineffective. The effective leaders get after it and get it done.
“No bad teams, only bad leaders” – Leif Babin
Does that mean that there are no difficult people? Of course not!
In the real world there are people who are difficult to work with. Leadership means finding the right way to communicate, influence, and motivate the team so that you get the mission accomplished.
- Do you believe in your cause?
- Are you fair in your decisions?
- Do you talk about your standards and values or do you uphold them?
- Are you leading from the front or demanding from on high?
There is art to leadership but the mentality of Extreme Ownership is a canvas frame work to which you can paint the master plan.
“A leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove” – Jocko Willink
Thanks for joining me on this journey and feel free to send me an email to connect. I hope you enjoyed this post, stay tuned for more to come!
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